this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2024
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21049862

The only numbers I will ever spell are one and zero, and only when using them as a pronoun, or for emphasis, respectively.

Is there ever a reason to not to use symbols when dealing with numbers? Why would "fourteen whatevers" ever be preferable to "14 whatevers". It's just so much easier to read numbers as symbols, not spelled out.

(Caveat, not including multipliers, like "273 billion").

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[–] Eiri@lemmy.ca 69 points 3 weeks ago (17 children)

What kills me is when people will mix the two in a single context.

"Between eight and 13 percent"

NO. If you're writing one number in digits, you need to write them all the same way.

[–] KoalaUnknown@lemmy.world 32 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

Sometimes it’s actually better to mix them.

Example from Purdue Owl:

Unclear: The club celebrated the birthdays of 6 90-year-olds who were born in the city.

Clearer: The club celebrated the birthdays of six 90-year-olds who were born in the city.

[–] Eiri@lemmy.ca 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
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